It’s been said that, thanks to the vagaries of the current economic climate, business dressing has become a much more corporate affair. Gone are the casual Fridays, or for the lucky few the casual Monday – Fridays, and in their wake a new interest in suits has emerged.

Unsurprisingly, it appears that when you’re afraid that you may lose your job you develop a hitherto unknown determination to look as businesslike as possible. But where does that leave what was already a minefield of despair and confusion for the majority – the dreaded summer dress code?

In prior years, the run up to summer has been marked by such questions as “if I go bare legged to an important meeting will anyone really notice?” and “if I wear the khakis, polo shirts, and sensible shoes that the HR department keep telling me are the dernier cri when it comes to business casual, will I look like I’ve stopped by to solve someone’s computer problems?”

This year we’re faced with the even more depressing “does removing my suit jacket count as ‘casual’?”. Which, I suppose, goes to show that things can always be worse and we should never look a gift horse (even one wearing an HR-approved ensemble of shoulder covering top, knee-length skirt, and closed-toe shoes) in the eye.